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Sergio Ramos reveals Spain were hurting after recent criticism of the national team

Spain defender Sergio Ramos admits it has hurt the national team to have come under fire from some supporters recently.

Last Updated: 27/03/13 1:20pm

Sergio Ramos: Hurt by criticism from fans

The Spanish went into Tuesday night's crunch World Cup qualifier with France lying two points below Les Bleus in Group I after being held to a surprise 1-1 draw at home by Finland on Friday night.

That was the second successive qualifier Vicente del Bosque's men have been held at home, having also conceded a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with France in October, and led to questions marks being raised against the national team.

However, Spain answered the doom-mongers on Tuesday with a 1-0 victory in Paris which puts them back on top of Group I and on course for an automatic qualifying berth for next year's World Cup finals in Brazil.

Speaking after the match, Real Madrid defender Ramos, who has been a key member of the Spain squad that has won back-to-back European Championships and the World Cup since 2008, told reporters: "We respect the critics, but it hurts that a section of the fans criticise you after all that we've done.

"We are very pleased with this game. We were in a delicate situation and we've been able to react."

Barcelona forward Pedro scored the only goal of the game in the 58th minute while France finished with 10 men following Paul Pogba's dismissal with 12 minutes to go.

Pedro said: "It was important to win, we've managed it and I'm very happy. We couldn't slip-up."